Zuckerberg grilled in social media addiction trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled in a Los Angeles trial over the company’s goals for attracting younger users and the alleged addictive nature of its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, as well as YouTube. The case, described as a first-of-its-kind, centers on claims by a 19-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M. that social media contributed to depression and suicidal thoughts through addictive use.
Questioning focused on age-verification policies and efforts to prevent under-13 access, with Zuckerberg noting that Meta restricts younger users and tries to detect false age information. an internal 2018 Instagram slide suggesting “If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens” was cited to probe why the company pursued younger audiences; Zuckerberg argued that internal discussions evolved toward safer, kid-kind versions of services.
Zuckerberg defended that there were varying conversations over time about time-use goals and noted that if something is valuable,people will use it more. Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, pushed back on claims of clinical addiction and argued that decisions should not prioritize profit over people’s well-being. Meta and YouTube deny that their platforms are harmfully addictive and contend that Section 230 protections shield them from liability.
Snapchat’s owner Snap and TikTok were named in the suit but settled with K.G.M. for undisclosed amounts.The jury is allowed to continue using the platforms, and the trial is expected to proceed over the coming weeks, reflecting heightened scrutiny of social media and its impact on youth.
Zuckerberg grilled on Meta’s targeting of teenagers in social media addiction trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced sharp questions about his social media company’s goals for attracting younger users during a Wednesday hearing in Los Angeles.
Zuckerberg was called to the witness stand in the ongoing trial in a first-of-its-kind case accusing social media companies Meta — which operates Instagram and Facebook — and YouTube of making their platforms harmfully addictive. The case centers on claims made by a 19-year-old, identified only as K.G.M. in the lawsuit, that she became addicted to the media, blaming that addiction for leading to her depression and suicidal thoughts.
During Zuckerberg’s time on the stand during the trial on Wednesday, he was grilled by lawyers on a variety of topics, including how Meta safeguards against underage users from accessing its platforms and its goal regarding teenagers’ use of the social media platforms.
K.G.M.’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, spent a significant part of his questioning asking about the platform’s age verification policies, according to the Associated Press. Zuckerberg explained that the company restricts users under 13 years old and tries to detect when a user has lied about their age to go around those rules. The Meta CEO said he did not “see why this is so complicated,” after continued questions about its age verification policy.
Lanier also pointed to an internal Instagram presentation from 2018 that claimed, “If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens,” and questioned why the company set a goal of attracting younger users.
Zuckerberg said Lanier was “mischaracterizing what I am saying,” but did add that the company “had different conversations over time to try to build different versions of services that kids can safely use,” per Reuters.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Lainer questioned Zuckerberg about the time-use goals Meta had discussed in internal documents. Zuckerberg defended the company’s internal goal to encourage users to spend more time on Instagram, saying “if something is valuable, people will do it more because it’s useful to them,” per Sky News.
Zuckerberg’s grilling on the stand came a week after the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, pushed back on claims that someone could be clinically addicted to social media. Mosseri also defended the platform’s decisions, saying it is “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being,” per the Associated Press.
Both Meta and YouTube have strongly denied allegations that their platforms are harmfully addictive, also claiming that Section 230, a federal statute that generally protects online platforms from liability for user-posted content, should protect them from liability in this case.
JURY CAN KEEP USING PLATFORMS AT CENTER OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION CASE: JUDGE
Snap, the owner of Snapchat, and TikTok were also named in the initial lawsuit, but the two companies settled with K.G.M. for an undisclosed amount ahead of the trial.
Social media and its addictive qualities have been increasingly under the microscope for the past decade, with the heads of social media companies testifying before Congress and platforms making adjustments for younger users, but the trial in Los Angeles marks a new step in the scrutiny toward the platforms. The trial, which began earlier this month, is expected to continue over the coming weeks.
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